NEC Display Solutions of America announced today that it has launched VUKUNET, a Web-based platform for placing advertising on digital out-of-home screens. According to NEC, the platform is designed to solve the main issues facing both network owners and advertisers by providing a centralized, automated platform designed specifically to connect and distribute ads to digital out-of-home (DOOH) networks.
According to a press release from NEC, VUKUNET helps digital signage network owners generate incremental income by making it easier to connect all screens that currently have time/space available on their networks to advertise. Ideal candidates are networks that have locations with heavy foot traffic, substantial dwell time, strategic monitor placement, numerous locations in key demographic areas, and that can run a variety of ads from different advertisers instead of being focused on a single brand. Retails stores, hotels, airports, rail and bus terminals, universities, hospitals, convention centers, stadiums, museums and restaurants are a few examples of these locations.
The VUKUNET platform is designed to connect all digital signage networks, with the goal to provide the largest single reach in the industry. NEC is encouraging existing aggregators and networks to tap into the platform in order to expand their reach and offerings to customers. Advertisers and ad agencies that formerly had to contact hundreds of potential network owners to determine rates and availability can now use the companion ADVUKU ad-serving platform to search for the most appropriate networks in any location.
VUKUNET works by having ad agencies plan a campaign and provide an offer to the network. The network will either accept or reject the offer. Upon approval, the agency would then upload the creative to the ADVUKU ad-serving platform, which sends that content along with a playlist to the designated display. Networks also have option of rejecting the offer. At that point the agency could increase the CPM or make a change to the pricing. The network is also able to review and approve the creative.
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How VUKUNET works, courtesy of NEC. |
“It’s totally automated, so there’s no intervention from IT departments,” said Ashley Flaska, vice president of marketing for NEC Display Solutions. “With other aggregation systems you may be able to plan online, but all content is sent manually to the IT director. This takes time and it takes awhile to get the proof of performance back. With our system you’ll also be able to switch out content in a timely manner.”
NEC also plans to offer consolidated billing as part of the VUKUNET offering. For each client, the ad agency will get a separate invoice for all the campaigns that were done.
“Digital place-based media has proven itself to be a very powerful and effective advertising medium, yet it is still under-utilized because it has always been impossible for agencies and advertisers to connect all networks and purchase effectively,” said Pierre Richer, president and COO at NEC Display Solutions. “We created VUKUNET to address all the issues in this space, allowing network owners to realize the full value of their investments in equipment, service and real estate."
The VUKUNET platform is designed to be agnostic, meaning ads can be distributed to screens from any manufacturer and networks that are using any content management system. There is no charge to become a member of VUKUNET.
The platform consists of VUKUNET Ad Manager, which enables networks to run ads on their screens and an optional VUKUNET CMS, which is a fully-equipped SaaS content management system available for free to VUKUNET Ad Manager participants, as well as NEC Display hardware customers.
Flaska said the platform was designed around Web ad-serving tools such as Doubleclick and Atlas.
“Since the media planners and buyers are used to working with those Web ad serving platforms, we wanted to make an easy transition to make sure there wasn’t a large leaning curve,” she said.
“VUKUNET is a tremendous asset to network owners who want to increase the profitability and lower the costs of their networks,” said Richer. “By centralizing the entire process, we’ve made it easier to fulfill the potential place-based media holds within the advertising world. It really elevates digital signage to the sophistication level of all other media and finally fulfills its long awaited potential.”
